Alarm for automatic fire-extinguishers.



No. 840,375 PATBNTED JAN. 1, 1907.

' P. H. MGB.

4ALARM PoR AUTOMATIC PIRE BXTINGUISHERS.

AFPLIOATIQN FILED JULY 30, 1904.

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lllllll Ill'llllll No. 840,375. PATENTBDJAN. l, 1907. F. H. RICE. ALARM POR AUTOMATIC FIRE BXTINGUISHERS. APPLICATION FILED JULY 30, 1904.

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llllll/l/lllllll/l//l/ "roA UNITED s'rnrns- PATENT orrren.- y

FRANK H. RICE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINCIS; ASSIGCR TO AUTOMATIC FIRE PROTECTION COMPANY, A CCRFORATION OF MAINE.

No. 840,375.` l l ALARM FOR AUTNIATIC FIREEXT!NGU,ISHERIS.

Application filed July SQ, 1904. Serial Noi 218.935.

To all when it ina/y concern:

Be itknown that l, FRANK H. Rien, a citi;yr -zeu ofthe United States, residing at Chicage,

of the main water-valve under the in uence,

of AWater-hammer. A device which causesan alarm to be given instantly upon every disturbance of the valve under these momentary impulses is for obvious reasons objectionable, While at the same time it is of the utmost importance that an alarm be given as quickly as practicable upon efvery sustained unseating of the valve. The valve itself may and ordinarily will respond to and be unseateda greater or less distance by every disturbance of the static condition, whichresults in a preponderance of pressure against its under or inlet side butin order to prevent. merelymomentary disturbances .from causing a false alarm and, on the other hand, cause or permit an alarm to be given upon a sustained unseating of the valve, as aforesaid, l interpose between the valve andthe alarm Imechanism a device or mechanism which may appropriately be called time mechanism. such construction that immediately upon the unseating ofthe valve it (the time mechanismlwill commence an operation Which if continued for a predetermined length of time will condition the-alarm mechanism to operate, such continued= operation being conditional upon the valves' remaining. unseated, While,on the other hand, if the'valve reseats `itself before the expiration of the aforesaid predetermined length of time the operation of the time mechanism Will dnot only cease, but in addition to this the time mechanism Will be reset or restored to its normal condiv In some localities there is no Water-ham- This time mechanism is of mer, or. practically none, While in others it variesin frequency, duration, and force. It is of course desirable that an alarm be given as soon as practicable after the firing 4of a head, and hence to meet these varying conditions and have a sufficient margin of safety against false alarmsL andgon the other hand, cause an alarm to'be given as soon as practicable afterthat margin is passed, so that one andthe same vdevice may be used in any locality, the time'mechanism may be provided With means for adjusting it, or, in other Words, for regulating the length of, time it must run before conditioning the alarm.

mechanism to 'operate 5 It is Well understood by those skilled the art that-ina Wet-pipe system theonly function of the feo-called valve is the causing of an alarm to be given upon the establishing of a current .or flow of Water through the system upon the opening of a sprinklerhead, and hence Iedesire to have it understood thatthe term valve as used in this specification is intended to comprehend any movable device thatis exposed to or influenced by pressure in the system and is adapted to respond to variations in the status thereof for the purpose stated.

In its broadest aspect the invention is not limited to alarm mechanism of any particular construction but l prefer to use mechanism having an electrical circuit, including a l make and break under the control of the time mechanism, so that an alarm Will be given upon the making or breaking ofthe circuit, accordingly as the system is operated on an open or closed circuit.

An hour-glass is Within the scope of the term time mechanism as used in this specification, and the mechanism which l prefer to use is the v,equivalent of an hour-glass, al-

though it has a body of liquid in place of the body of's'and customarily used in an hour-- lass. g In theaccompanying drawings, which are made a part of this speciiieatioinigures 1 and 2 are respectively a vertical and a horizontal section of the main Water-valve of a Wet-pipe automatic 'fire-extinguishing' system and an alarm device embodying the invention associated therewith. Fig. 3 is an roo' enlarged longitudinal section of the 'time mechanism thereof. transverse sections thereof on the hnes 4 4,

Figs. 4, 5, and are y 5, andl 6, Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows, respectively. Figs. 7 and 8 are; views similar to Fig. 3, showing modications. e A represents the main Water-valve casing 5 having an inlet c, leading from a source of Water-supply, and an outlet a, leading to the system of distributing-pipes.'

B is the main Water-valve proper, located over the inlet a and directly in the Waterway xo in customary manner, so as to be exposed to the Water and lifted therebyT upon any disturbance of the static condition thereof, Which results in a preponderance. of pressure on the under or inlet side. It may be lifted I5 either as a result of opening of one ormore sprinlrlenheads or as a result of Waterhammer. When lifted as a, result of the opening of any num-ber of heads from one up, it is desirable that an alarm be given, and, on zo the other vh nd, When lifted as a result of Wah ter-hammer it is desirable that no alarm be given, When lifted as. a' result of the openlng offenev or more heads, it will be sustained in elevated position by thewater flowing; pastit; but When lifted as a result of Waterhammer it reseats itself immediately upon the cessation of the impulse. It is this dif-l ference that is made usevof for giving anA alarm in one instance and preventing it in 3o the other, and these results-are preferably accomplished by the mechanism hereinafter described, 'albeit I desire to have it understood that excepting When otherwise speeif ic-ally stated the invention is not limited to 3 5 details of construction.

The valve B is carried by an arm C, projecting from a shaft D, that is mounted to turn freely in suitablebearings, and to this shaft is secured the time mechanism E, the 4o construction of Which is fully shown in Figs.

3, 4,5, and 6. Disregarding for the time being its details of construction this device comprises a support or foundation of some suitable construction and a shifting body carried thereby and adapted to shift its position by gravity When the support is shifted','whereby it makes and breaks an electrical circuit. Preferably the support consists of a shell having Within it a chamber, and the shifting 5o body consists of a quantity of mercury partly filling the chamber and adapted to vfion( from place therein as the inclination of the shell is changed. Into this chamber project the terminals f of an electrical circuit F, Which includes an alarm device G and a battery H or other source of electrical energy. The chamber preferably comprises what is, in effect, two chambers I and J and restricted ducts K and L, connecting the chambers I 6o and J at top and bottom, respectively. All of these features are preferably formed by boring or coring holes in a block of glass, porcelain, hard rubber, iron, or other nonamalgama ting material of the proper size and shape, the ends of the drill or core holes being closed Wherever necessary by suitable plugs. The plug j, which closes the chamber J, is provided with an opening through which the two sides of the circuit are led, so as to be insulated from each other, the' opening being closed air and Water tight. The terminals may be spaced apart so that a single random drop or small body of mercury Willl not connect them.

The chamber I constitutes a reservoir for containing the mercury, which preferably fills it and the duct L up to the level of the bottom of the contactfchamber J,vso that when the. device isv in normal position (horizontal) the mercury will not stand in the contactchamber J, although there Would be no objection tol its doing s o other than the possibility of its splashing up elosin7 the eircuit under severe Water-hammer. when the valve unseats, the support will be tipped 'and the mercury-reservoir Will be carried to a higher level relatively to the contact-chamber 5 and the mercury will flow into the latter,` the necessary vent taking place through the duct K, and if'the flow be allowed to contin'ue the terminals f Will eventually he submerged and the circuit thereby closed. L

Regardless of the length of time required for this action to take place I believe this to be a new means for controlling the circuit ofV an electrical alarm used in combinationwith the :but Where Water-hammer exists ythis simple forniof the device is undesirable because it acts too quickly, and hence in order to prevent Water-hammer from causing fire-alarm`s the shifting of the necessary quantity of mercury to cause an alarm is retarded. This may be done by restricting the duct L, through 'which the mercury VlioWs or the ventduct K, or both, or by properly proportioning and disposing the parts.

In constructing or adjusting the device to close the circuit in any given length of time regard must be had not only to the capacity ci the passage through which. the mercury flows, but also to the quantity of mercury that must flow or shift in order to submerge the terminals. These are matters of detail that can readily be met by. those skilled in the art. A valve or other device N may be placed in'any ofthe ducts or passages so as te put the adjusting of the device to meet any given 'condition within the power of the person installing it after it leaves the IOO izo

factory. In any event the mercury-passages i must be of such capacity and so related that if given the necessary time the mercurywill close the circuit evien when the valve is lifted only the short distance that is 'incident to the opening of a single head. This will be only a fraction of an inch at the outer edge of/ the valve, and since it is important that an alarm be given upon the opening of even a single head it follows that this minimum rangeof valve movement is the limit within which the device must operate.

. Of course the rapidity of the low 'will depend somewhat'upon the extent of the dii'i'erence in the relative levels of the opposite eX- tremities of the mercury-chamber; but this will simply tend to hasten the giving of an zok , limited to themeans above described for alarm when the valve is completely opened. Should a large number of heads open. at about the same time, the valve would open quickly and the normally vertical side ofthe chamberJ would as quickly become its bottom side, and in this condition a small body of lmercury would'close the circuit. The retarding action of the time mechanism would be thereby rendered inactive, and this is as it should be, since the retarding action isdesirable only in preventing false alarms, and not in delaying the giving'of an alarm when a proper occasion for it arises. 'T he shell above 'described is preferably inclosed inl a metallic jacket M, 'and a body N' of ozocerite or other suitable substance is run into the space between them, so as to insulate them and form an absolutely watertight joint at all points. The jacket has a hollow spud through which the wires are led, and this spud is closed by a cap m, having an opening for the passage of the wires. In its broadest aspect the invention is not retarding the rise of the level of the mercury in the contactfchamber, as l believe any means for doing this to be Within the scope of my invention. v ln Fig. S l have shown at J an enlargement of the passage through Ywhich the mercury flows back and forth between the portions l and J v rl`his enlargement is in the nature of an overflow-chamber, whichmust beiilled'with mercury before any of it can enter the so-called contact-chamber J, the contracted duct through which the mercury enters and leaves the overflow-chamber J be- 'ing made by cutting grooves'or notches Z of the required size in the face or faces of one or both of the two blocks of which this form of the device is constructed. This overflow'- chamber will prevent any possibility of the mercurys splashing up and closing the.circuit in case the valve should be suddenly thrown Wide open.

lt will be observed that the entire makeand-break device is contained in a liquidytight chamber, and this permits of its being i located wholly within the waterway. The

.advantage of. this is that the necessity for a moving part passing out through a packed opening or stufiing-box is entirely avoided. j I do not claim, broadly, as my invention a device of the class described having time mechanism, *having a shifting body, and means through which the valve lifts said body to a position from which it may fall by gravity and condition the alarm mechanismto operate; nor dol claim the means for retarding the movement of said body. Furthenl lay no claim to the combination of a chamber or chambered support containing a shiftable fluid body with or without means for retarding the shifting of said body and means controlled by the pressure in the system for shifting said'body and causing it to condition the alarm mechanism to operate; nor do I claim more -specilically such a combinationv wherein the means controlled by pressure lin the system mayshift said body in one direction to cause it to condition the alarm mechanism to operate and in the opposite direction to reestablish said body in its normal condition; nor do l claim the combination, with a receptacle containing fluid under pressure and a signal device, of a chamber, a shiftable body of electrically.- conductive materialv therein arranged to be conditioned for shifting movement by variation of pressure in the receptacle, and a circuit whereby the operation ofthe signal device is controlled, including contact parts in the chamber controlled by the shiftable body whereby proper shifting of the shiftable body conditions the signal device for operation.

What l claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. ln a device of the class described, the combination with a valve and an alarm mechanism, of a movable supporta body IOO carried thereby and adapted to shift from place to place thereon, by gravity, `and means through which the valve shifts the support and conditions said body to shift, and thereby condition the time mechanism to operate, substantially as described:

2. In a device of the class described, the

combination with a valveA and, an alarm mechanism, of a movable support, a body carried thereby and adapted to shift thereon, means for retarding the movementof said body, and means through which the valve shifts the support and conditions said body to shift, and thereby condition the alarm mechanism to operate, substantially as described. I j

3. ln a device of the class described, the combination with a valveand an alarm mechanism, of a movable support having a chamber, a fluid body contained in said chamber and adapted to shift therein, and

`thereby condition the alarm mechanism to i operate, and means through which the valve shifts the support, and thereby conditions the fluid body to shift, substantially as de-` tially as described. .4* 5. In a device of the class described, the" combination ,With a valve and anV alarm mechanism, of a movable support having a chamber comprising enlarged portions and a contracted duct 'connecting them, a fluid body contained in said chamber andjadapted to shift from either of said enlarged portions i. totheothery and means through'vvliich the valve shifts the support and thereby causes said body to shift and condition the alarm mechanismA to operate, substantially as de scribed.

6. In a device of the class described',

combination with a valve and `an` alarm mechanism, of a movable support having a chamber comprising enlarged portions, a- -contracted duct connecting the bottoms of saidl enlarged portions, a fluid body contained in said chamber and' adapted to shift from either of said enlarged portions to the other, and means through Which the valve shifts the support and thereby causes said body to shift and condition the 'alarm mechanism to operate, substantially as described.

7. In a device of the class described, the

combination with a valve and an alarm= mechanism, of av movable support having a chamber, a Huid lbody contained in said chamber and adapted to shift back and forth therein, means for retarding the shift- 'ing of said body, and means through which th'e' valve shifts the support back and forth, whereby said body is caused to shift in one direction and condition the alarm mechanism to operate and in the opposite direction and reestablish itself in normal condition, substantially as described.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination of a valve, an electrical alarm mechanism, a Water-tight chamber into which the terminals of the alarm-circuit extend, said chanber being located in the waterway, and means controlled by the valve and located in the waterway for controlling the alarm-circuit, substantially as described. 9. In a device of the class described, the combination of a valve, an electrical alarm mechanism, a Water-tight chamber into which the' terminals of the alarm-circuit extend, said chamberbeing located in the wa* terWay, means Within the chamber for controlling the alarm-circuit and means through which the valve controls the circuit-controlling means, substantially as described.

l0. In a device of the class described, the combination of a valve, an electrical alarm mechanism, a movable Water-tight chamber into which the terminals of the alarmcircuit extend, said chamber being located in the Waterway, a.shifting body in said cham-A ber for controlling the` alarm-circuit, and means 'through Which the valve moves the chamber, substantially as described.

11. In a device ofthe class described, the

combination of avalve, an electrical alarm mechanism, a movable water-tight'chamber located in the Waterway and into' which the terminals of the alarm-circuit extend,means in said chanber, controlled by the position of the chamber, for controlling the circuit, and means whereby the chamber is moved by the valve, substantially as described.

12. In a device of the class described, the I combination of a support having a chamber,

a fluid body contained'in said chamber and .adapted to shift from placetoplaee therein,

' means for retardin'v theshifting of the Huid body, means controlled by the pressure in the system for shifting the fluid body in the chamber, and an .electrical alarm mechanism havingterminals in the chainber adapted Ato be connected and disconnected as the body shifts, substantially as described.

13. In. a device of the class described, the combination of a valve exposed tothe pressure in the system,l a support movable With-V rooY said valve, and havinga chamber, compris l ing lportions connected by a restricted duct, a fluid body contained inf said chamber' and adapted to flow back and forth through said duct, and an electrical alarm' mechanism'- having terminals in the chamber, substantially as described.

14. In a device of the classldescribed, the

IIO I combination of a valve exposed to the pressure in the system, 'a support Amovable With the valve and having a `Chamber, a body of mercury contained in the chamber and adapted to shift therein, and an-electrical alarm mechanism having terminals adapted to be .closed by the mercury, substantially as described.

15. In a device of the class described, the n combination of a movable support having a chamber -comprising a reservoir-a contact-vv chamber and an overliow-chamber arranged between the reservoir and contact-chamber, an electrical alarm mechanism having terminals in the contact-chamber, and. means for shifting the movable support, substan-- tially as described.

FRANK H. RICE. l/Vitnesses J. V. Noncnoss, L. M. Hormns. 

